The proposed expansion with the addition of the Sørvest F and Vestavind F areas changes the assumptions based on the analysis from 2012 and a strategic impact analysis must therefore be carried out for the effects of the capacity expansions, according to the Norwegian government.
The government has also commissioned NVE to carry out a strategic impact assessment of the Vestavind B area, which is said to have good wind conditions and a lot of existing infrastructure related to established industries and interests in the area.
The strategic impact assessments for the 2025 round must be delivered to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy before the end of November 2024.
NVE has also been commissioned to start with strategic impact assessments of the other areas that are relevant for tendering moving forward, towards 2040. These assessments are scheduled to be completed before the end of June 2025, the Norwegian government said.
Earlier this year, a group of Norwegian directorates, led by the Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), identified 20 new areas for offshore wind development and recommended they should be investigated further.
The 20 areas include the three that are now being progressed by the government towards the 2025 round.
It is based on this work that it was deemed possible to carry out an offshore wind auction in 2025, but the directorates said this would be possible in 2025 only for extensions to the Sørlige Nordsjø II and Utsira Nord areas, for which capacity expansion opportunities and new sites have both been identified.
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